The Witch of Crow Lane
The story begins with a bunch of local children who were playing soccer in the empty field in Taman Gagak, when the ball strays to the Woetamani Estate, which was rumored to be a haunted house inhabited by an immortal witch. Three kids dare themselves to go into the path but run away screaming when they were suddenly surrounded by crows. The silhouette of a woman looks on from behind a window. Miranda Sucipto goes to her usual piano lessons with the elderly Aida Azwar. Though blind, she has never stopped teaching people how to play the piano for 70 years. Her metalhead grandson Sani Azwar greeted Mira and made her some tea, while Ni Ai taught Miranda how to play Ayo Mama. As they leave, Ardi Willy comes to cycle with Mira together, when they saw the children running down the lane. Ni Ai tells them to pay the children no mind, as they are just kids and they need to learn to be 'respectful of the land'. When they arrive at the Van Haji house, Mira and Ardi discuss the children. Galih Arifin, Minah Mintarsih's visiting grandson, overhears their talk and tells them about the Witch of Crow Lane, an immortal woman who has lived in the old house for a hundred years and steals anything and anyone that comes into her property. Galih explains that the local folklore is that they should always be wary of crows, as they may trick people into coming into the witch's property. Mira thinks it's ridiculous and says that there must be a rational explanation for the house, so she suggests that they go and see the house for themselves. That afternoon, the three of them cycles down the lane. They see that the street begins to be sparser as they go further, with houses appearing less and less. They come across the old cemetery and the large empty field, and crows begin to appear in the vicinity. Ardi tells the others that he just wants to go home and Galih agrees, but Mira presses on. They stop at a closed gate and a large colonial house stands behind it. Mira says she sees nothing but crows, but Galih says that he saw a silhouette from behind the stained glass window and tells them that they should go home now. Mira decides to through the empty field and saw that there was a small path behind the brush that led towards the house. As they followed the path, they were halted by a tall, dark-skinned man, holding a pair of garden shears. Terrified, they all ran away home. It was dusk when they arrived and they excitedly talked about what had just happened. A few moments later, Ua scolded them for being out and reminded Ardi that his mother called him to go home. After Ardi left and Galih went off to pray Maghrib with his grandmother, Mira was greeted by Philomena Develsbourne, who overheard her conversation. When Mira told Aunt Phil, she tells her that she had heard the same rumors as a child, but thought they were indeed just rumors. Mira insists that there's a logical explanation and wants to know who lived there. Phil suggests that they ask someone older, and since Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo was out of town for a Palang Merah event, they decide to wait until the next day to ask Ni Ai. After school, Phil and Mira went over to Ni Ai's house. Ni Ai had heard Phil's voice from the gate and recalls to her that she still sounded as she did on her wedding day. Phil tells Mira that Ni Ai had taught Phil how to play the piano too (remarking that she was never very good at it), along with Mira's grandmother, mother, aunt, and even great-grandmother (and Mira was surprised because neither her family nor Ni Ai ever told her). They then ask Ni Ai about the old house, and Ni Ai became rather quiet. She then tells the story. The Woetamani family had lived in the house since Paterosari's glory days, and when Ni Ai was a child, the family was famous for their knowledge of natural and mystical healing. The matriarch in the late 1920s, Rita Woetamani II, had ordered large amounts of fabric from Ni Ai's mother Aisyah Azwar, who was a fabric merchant. Rita took a liking for her, and it was from her that Ni Ai was taught how to play the piano. Rita paid for Ni Ai's school tuition and also taught her several subjects as well. They remained good friends when Ni Ai had begun teaching the piano herself. In 1944, Rita died suddenly when her daughter gave birth to her only child. The family became increasingly private as they grieved for their matriarch, and when Rita's daughter was found hanging from a tree in their yard in 1947, the family became reclusive and was never seen in public again. Category:Stories